Taking the World by Storm
by SoberDylan
Summary: Hermione, finally out of her stagnating relationship with Ron, finds independence, power and perhaps even love? Post Hogwarts, non-epilogue compliant as far as RonHermione are concerned. Not angsty.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione's boots clicked loudly as she marched down the empty corridor to her new office. She opened the door slowly, poking her head around and gasped when she saw it. Beautiful. Bookcases full of parchment, books and folders. A large, mahogany desk. A window. She walked in and sat down on the swivelling chair behind her desk, giggling as she twirled. She put her hand over her mouth, shocked. Hermione Granger did not giggle. There was a knock at the door and a horribly familiar pale-blond, pale-skinned man appeared, his grey, stormy eyes smouldering.

"Granger," he said, in his deep, seductive voice, "why have you still got your clothes on?"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise as he crossed over to her, his head bending closer and closer to her.

RIIINNNNNNG!

Hermione woke with a gasp, looking instinctively to her left to see Ron fast asleep, murmuring. She sighed with guilt as she recalled her recurring dream. She and Malfoy. In compromising positions. Dammit, why did it keep happening?

She turned off her alarm and gave Ron a nudge, before swinging her legs out of bed and heading for the shower. As she washed, she pushed all thoughts of Malfoy out of her mind. It was her first day in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but thankfully, Malfoy should be nowhere near the Ministry. He had used the billions of Malfoy galleons to create a very successful business, specialising in potions and charms. She would probably only see him for corporate lawsuits or multiple divorce settlements.

Ron had finally got out of bed when she emerged from the shower.

"Mione, what's for breakfast?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Hermione suppressed her rising irritation. Get it yourself, she wanted to hiss, but she reminded herself that it wasn't his fault. Mrs Weasley had always cooked for him and now that they were living together, she seemed to have taken over the role of mother. The washing? Yes, her job. The cooking? Of course. The cleaning? Ron. No, only joking. Ron was always saying that they had magic, or that they could get a house elf, but to Hermione, that wasn't the point. Hermione knew the charms required and Ron didn't, so if they did it by magic, it would still be her doing everything.

"I have to go, Ron, it's my first day at work."

Hermione sounded apologetic, but she felt a flash of guilt as relief ran through her. Mealtimes were not fun. Ron still spoke with his mouth full, grunting at her to pass the salt, and barely listened when she spoke.

"What? But Mione, I have training. What am I supposed to eat?"

Ron looked indignant as he found his training clothes, (unwashed of course), and pulled them on.

"Oh, Ron, can't you find some clean ones?" she asked, exasperated.

Ron glared at her.

"Well, I would have clean clothes if you washed them," he snapped.

Hermione took a deep breath and crossed over to her dresser, cutting off any further conversation. She dressed smartly for her first day, in a dark blue silk blouse and black skirt, with black sheer stockings and dark blue heels. She pulled her hair up into a knot at the back of her head, a few strands pulling free and framing her face. She applied simple lip gloss and mascara and deemed herself ready.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Ron, who was sitting on the bed, watching her sullenly.

"I'll see you later, Ron. Wish me luck."

Ron sighed.

"I'm out late tonight, so I'll probably get in once you're asleep."

Hermione nodded as she leaned forward to kiss him softly on the forehead.

The Ministry was busy that morning, the hundreds of employees making their way to their various offices. Hermione felt her heart beat fast with excitement as she got into the lift.

"Department of Magical Law Enforcement" the cool, female voice said, as the doors opened onto a long corridor.

Hermione stepped out, her heels clicking as she walked down the corridor. Doors were open as she walked past, and she could see people within, sitting at their various desks. She passed the Auror's Office, where Harry was sitting at a desk by the far window, buried in paperwork. Finally she reached the office at the end of the corridor and knocked.

The door swung open almost immediately. A witch in her early forties stood there, formidable and stern.

"Miss Granger?" she said, and Hermione nodded.

She entered the room and saw that the office of her dreams was very different to her reality. Three desks were crammed into the small room and the desks, far from being made of mahogany, were made of a light, cheap looking wood. Piles of papers were on each of the desks and two other people sat at two of the desks. Hermione, flushed with embarassment at being _late_, didn't look at them.

"Take your seat, Miss Granger," the witch said, and Hermione sat behind the last remaining desk, which she noticed, was in the worst possible position.

"Welcome to the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, more commonly referred to as the DMLE. I am Eloise Hopkins, senior prosecutor. We are the largest department at the Ministry. As new employees fresh from Hogwarts, you will start by shadowing senior members of the department, and learning the basics of the job. You must learn the basics before you proceed."

Hermione kept her gaze fixed on Eloise, desperate to make up for her lateness.

"Your first task, as you can see, is paperwork. These all need to be filed correctly in the Records Room. By hand. This task will allow you to become familiar with some of our more frequent clients. First one finished with their pile gets taken to lunch at Merlin's Cave."

Eloise looked at them expectantly, hands on her hips.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

When Eloise had gone, all three looked at each other.

Hermione recognised the tall, dark haired boy as a Slytherin in her year. She nodded. He nodded back.

"Blaise Zabini," he drawled.

The girl in the middle of the three desks was familiar and red haired.

"Hi, Susan," Hermione said.

"Hermione," Susan said, smiling at her kindly.

Hermione reached for her pile of papers and began to sort. Then, she wondered how they filed things. What if it wasn't alphabetical? She left the office and made her way to the records room. The cabinets were separated into groups of four or five. On the wall beside the door was a list.

Corporate - COR: 1, 2, 3, 4

Commercial - COM: 5, 6, 7, 8

Family - F: 9, 10, 11, 12

Property - P: 13, 14, 15, 16

Criminal - CRI: 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Trust and Equity - TAE: 22, 23, 24, 25

International - I: 26, 27, 28, 29

Contract - CON: 30, 31, 32, 33

She crossed over and opened one of the cabinets. They were alphabetised by surname.

Hermione smiled to herself and headed back to the office. This time, sorting through the papers, she noticed letters scrawled in the top right corner. She matched them up to the area of law and started alphabetising. She shot a quick glance to her left at the other two, who were painstakingly alphabetising the whole pile.

She finished around 11.30am and picked up her pile to take to the Records Room. Susan and Blaise looked up in surprise and consternation.

Why hadn't they thought to get up?

The filing took her another hour, and she was halfway through when Blaise, and then Susan, entered and started filing their own papers.

Hermione was torn between winning and seeing the job done properly.

"Look at the sign by the door," she said finally, before they had got too far.

With a sigh, they rushed back to the office and started re-filing. The others were still frantically sorting through their papers when she returned to the office.

With a deep breath, she sat down at her empty desk. Two years in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and she had swapped it for this? Glorified interning in a crummy office? She had been offered an Enforcement Officer position, promised lots of cases and lured with Latin contracts, curses and complicated small print. Instead she was filing.

Eloise knocked on the door at 12.30pm, when Blaise and Susan were in the Records Room.

"Where are the others, Miss Granger?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.

"In the Records Room," Hermione said.

"Ah, well congratulations Miss Granger, it seems you have won. Get your coat, let's go to lunch."

Hermione stood and followed Eloise down the corridor. She stopped and knocked at the Auror's Office.

Harry was still sitting at his desk, filling out some sort of form. He smiled happily at her.

"Mr Potter, are you ready for lunch?"

Harry stood and nodded to someone across the room as he left.

They collected more people along the way. Harry looked across at Hermione and could see that she was bothered by something.

"What's the matter?" he whispered, when they were heading across the Atrium.

"I'm a pen pusher," Hermione whispered back. "I've been doing managerial work for the last two years and spent this morning filing. I'm better than this!"

Harry smiled at her.

"You know you won't be there for long, Mione."

Hermione sighed and pushed it out of her mind.

* * *

Merlin's Cave was a beautiful, mysterious restaurant at the very end of Diagon Alley. The ceiling was low and hundreds of candles were set in alcoves, lighting the restaurant softly. A waiter led them to a large round table in the far corner of the restaurant. Hermione looked around the table. Harry was on her right, and Eloise on her left. The Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, was opposite her and sitting next to him was none other than Draco Malfoy.

Hermione averted her gaze from his, looking down at the table.

She didn't recognise the two other people.

"Welcome everyone," Kingsley said, in his deep voice. "Let's order, then we can get down to business."

Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, curious.

They ordered, then Kinglsey took a deep breath.

"You are all here today to take part in a very big legal case. Ms Hopkins, I see you have chosen Miss Granger to assist you?"

Hermione looked at Eloise, who nodded briskly.

"Yes - she passed the test with flying colours this morning. Miss Granger, I do apologise for the menial work you undertook, but it is what we do to all new legal employees. I'll show you your real office after lunch."

Hermione glowed as she realised that paperwork would not be her primary task.

"The situation is this: Lucius Malfoy is awaiting trial. Lucius, for Muggle Torture, being a known Death Eater and for being the cause of the Chamber of Secrets incident where Ginny Weasley was nearly killed, could face quite a few years behind bars."

"Mr Potter, I need you to gather a team of Aurors to watch Mr Malfoy, night and day. He knows he's going down, and we think he may try to slip away."

Harry nodded briefly, face grim.

"Mr Malfoy, if you would work with Miss Granger and Ms Hopkins, that will definitely strengthen our case. Start looking out for witnesses. Of course, we can't use Muggles, but if Ginny Weasley would speak, that would greatly help."

Draco and Hermione's eyes flashed towards each other briefly, then down again.

Draco turned to one of the people Hermione didn't recognise and whispered to her. She nodded as she made a note on the pad in front of her.

Kingsley also turned to one of the other people Hermione didn't recognise and spoke to him. He made a note on his notepad.

There was a brief lull as their food arrived. Hermione tucked into her chicken en croute with gusto. The morning's work and lack of breakfast had definitely whet her appetite.

She was shivering in anticipation. A major role in one of the biggest trials of the century! A chance to put Lucius away in Azkaban for everything he had done.

After lunch, Eloise showed Hermione into a spacious office, with a mahogany desk, a Tiffany lamp upon it and a window. Books lined the four walls.

Hermione looked with pleasure at the books. Here was everything she could ever need on Magical Law.

"I'm sorry about this morning, Hermione. It's something we always do. I did it, when I got here."

"What will happen to Blaise and Susan?" Hermione asked, turning around and walking over to her desk.

"I am just about to go and speak to them. They finished their filing at 1.15pm, while we were at lunch, so they still did really well. Some take all day. They will have to go through a few more tests."

"I'll leave you to make a start on the case. My assistant will bring over what has been done so far."

"Thank you, Ms Hopkins," Hermione said, smiling, as Eloise nodded and left.

Hermione sat down with a happy sigh, then searched the drawers of her desk. She found some parchment and reached out for the Eagle's feather quill on her desk. She dipped it in the inkwell and began to write.

_Ginny, _

_I hope you are well. I was wondering whether we could do lunch sometime this week? I have a proposition for you._

_Hermione_

She wondered how to send it to her friend. Getting up and going to the window, she saw that it was a real one, not one of the artificial ones some offices had. There was a knock at the door.

"Miss Granger?"

A small, brown-haired woman entered with piles of paper in her arms. She set them down on the table by the door.

"The case files for you," she said.

Hermione thanked her.

"Before you go, how do I send letters from here? It's not like you have telephones."

The woman looked confused.

"Telephone? Oh yes, the Muggle things. Is it external?"

"Yes."

"Well, we have an owlery. For Ms Hopkins, I take her external letters and send them for her, so let me take that. Your assistant will be here tomorrow, so she can do it then."

Hermione folded the parchment and wrote Ginny's name upon it. She handed it over.

"I'm Marjorie, by the way," she said.

Hermione smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Marjorie, and thank you."

Marjorie left and Hermione turned to the piles of paper. This would take a while.

Three hours later, the papers were spread around her on the floor when an owl came through her window, dropping a letter on the desk and then flying back to the window, where it perched.

Hermione opened the letter.

_Granger, _

_Please let me know, at your convenience, when we should meet to discuss the case. _

_I congratulate you on your new job, you will be brilliant. _

_How's the Weasel?_

_Malfoy_

Hermione smiled. She scribbled back a reply.

_Malfoy, _

_I'm free tonight, the 'Weasel' is out. I will be in my office, so come and see me, at your convenience. _

_Thank you. I hope so. _

Hermione didn't know how to answer Malfoy's question. How was Ron? He was difficult, selfish, demanding, sexist and greedy. She was stuck, taking care of him, burdened by their years of friendship. She never needed him, but he always needed her. How had it come to this? Aged 24, living with the only real boyfriend she had ever had, (she didn't really count Viktor Krum) and waiting on him hand and foot. Where was her independence?

_Granger_

She simply signed the note and sent it off with the handsome eagle owl.

Her mobile phone rang as she sat back down, which meant it could be one of a few people. Harry, her parents, or Ron.

It was Ron. She answered, but could only hear background noise. Dammit, he had pocket dialled her again. She was about to hang up when she heard a high pitched squeal.

"Ron!"

Then she heard Ron's familiar chuckle.

"What? Come on, nobody can see."

"I feel bad, Ronnie, what about Hermione?"

Ron scoffed.

"Hermione's a cold bitch. You know she's stopped doing my washing, and she never gave me any breakfast this morning! Too caught up in her new job. If she won't take care of me, then I'll have to find someone who does."

"I will," the girl promised, and then Hermione could hear the sound of them kissing.

She hung up in disgust.

Well, she had wanted a way out.

Just at that moment, Draco Malfoy entered her office. He knew, with one glance, that something was wrong. Hermione was pale, staring at her phone in disbelief.

"What's happened?" he asked abruptly.

"Ron rang me by mistake," she whispered, "he was with another girl. I heard them kissing."

Draco's cheeks flushed, something she recognised as a symptom of his anger. He knelt in front of her, pulling her hands into his and looked earnestly into her face.

"Screw him, Granger. You know you're too good for him."

Hermione smiled weakly.

"Why are you being so nice?" she asked. "After how I treated you?"

Draco's eyes darkened.

"You were a bitch, Granger, and my pride was hurt, but I'll always care about you. You helped me change."

Hermione squeezed his hands, then suddenly laughed. Relief had surged through her powerfully. She was free.

Draco looked at her as though she was crazy.

"I'm free!" she yelled, getting up and dancing around her office. Draco smirked as he watched her, but his eyes were soft. Then he took in her outfit.

Her skirt was too long, below her knees, and wasn't fitted properly. Her blouse, too, was loose, making it look like she had a protruding stomach. Her hair was pulled harshly back into a bun and the few tendrils that had escaped had become frizzy.

"Granger, what are you wearing?"

Hermione stopped short and looked at him, anger in her eyes.

"Work clothes." She pulled self-consciously at her skirt.

"It's too long and doesn't fit properly. That blouse, although it is a nice colour, is too big for you. And your hair looks terrible."

Hermione quivered in anger.

"How dare you come in here and criticise what I'm wearing!" she hissed.

Draco raised his hands apologetically.

"Sorry, Granger, but I was just wondering why Weasley would cheat on you, despite him being a twat. What do you normally wear? What do you normally do?"

Hermione's cheeks went pink.

"It is not my fault he cheated on me!" Hermione said, pointing her finger at him.

"I know it isn't, but don't you want to get back at him?"

Hermione scowled.

"I normally wore jeans and a t-shirt, or pyjamas around the house. I read books, studied, worked hard."

"And Ron is a man of cheap and old fashioned taste. He would have liked to see you in short skirts and plenty of make up, with an apron probably, cooking and cleaning for him all hours of the day and keeping his bed warm at night."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I know all that, and I did look after him for four years. I'd had enough for a while, and things were bad between us. I want to be with someone who appreciates my brains and doesn't want a housekeeper, but an equal partner."

Draco's expression darkened.

"I offered you that," he said quietly. Hermione met his eyes and didn't look away.

"I know and I'm sorry I was fool enough to still be under his thrall."

Draco laughed. "You make him sound like the Dark Lord."

Hermione joined in and they both laughed at the thought of Ron as a Dark wizard.

Draco perched on the table by the door.

"So, what do you want to do? Revenge? Move on completely? Buy some new clothes?"

Hermione shot him a dark look at his last comment.

"Move out," she said, smiling. "I want my own place, decorated in my style. Yes, new clothes, lots of them. I want to be attractive."

She glared at Draco.

"I'll tell you why I wear these clothes. I haven't really cared about looking good for a while, and don't really have a lot of body confidence."

Dracp shook his head in despair.

"What happened to you, Granger? The passionate, strong-willed you who wouldn't change for anyone?"

Hermione looked ashamed.

"Love weakened me," she said simply, holding her arms out.

Draco was silent.

"Come on, I'll take you shopping. We can start on all this tomorrow. Oh, and you can stay with me tonight if you like."

Hermione shook her head.

"I'll stay with my parents until I find an apartment, but thank you."

They headed out of the Ministry and hit the shops.

Draco veered Hermione away from the loose-fitting clothes and towards the pencil skirts and tight silk blouses.

"Now that's an outfit," he said approvingly, when she emerged from the changing room in a dark green fitted silk dress and blazer. Her heels were a little higher than usual, which showed off her long, slim legs.

Hermione laughed a little breathlessly. She had hardly recognised herself.

They got carried away, picking out outfit after outfit, and veering away from work clothes into casual clothes, evening clothes and party dresses.

"Lingerie!" Draco yelled, as he spotted a boutique lingerie store. Hermione hissed at him to be quiet as she entered the shop.

She wouldn't allow Draco to see her in any of it, but allowed him to pick some out. He did have good taste.

She bought, for the first time, underwear in quality silk and lace, in beautiful colours.

She would be throwing her old white cotton underwear out as soon as she got back.

"Now, a haircut!" Draco said, as they left, the shopping in Hermione's beaded purse.

Hermione glared at him.

"My hair is fine," she said. Draco only rolled his eyes and led her towards Madame Villiers.

The middle-aged, elegant Frenchwoman greeted Draco warmly as they entered.

"A project for you," he said, gesturing to Hermione.

Madame Villiers's eyes gleamed.

Hermione was pushed into a seat and her hair washed.

When it hung around her face in wet clumps, the Frenchwoman pursed her lips, starting to comb it.

"Adele, Granger's hair is the craziest I have ever come across," Draco commented, meeting Hermione's furious eyes in the mirror.

Adele put a smoothing potion on her hair to comb through it easily. When it was neat around her face, she picked up the scissors.

"Layers, definitely, to get rid of that triangle shape. And some potions, to make it curl properly."

She started snipping, and Hermione watched in horror as her hair fell to the floor. The potions were applied and then Adele waved her wand, drying her locks.

Hermione gaped in amazement. Her hair hung in shining curls past her shoulders. It was smooth and full, but the bushiness had disappeared. With that gone, her natural highlights were visible.

Draco smiled to himself. She looked incredible.

Adele clucked to herself as she surveyed her work. She brought a bottle of potion forward.

"Simply dip your comb in the potion and comb your hair after washing it and that will get rid of the bushiness. Over time, you won't need the potion anymore."

Hermione took the potion and brought out her purse to pay. It was pretty expensive, but looking at her hair again in the mirror it was definitely worth it.

"Now, come on Granger, let's get you back."

Hermione and Ron's flat was quiet when they arrived. Hermione waved her wand, concentrating deeply as belongings started to rush towards her. She packed them away in boxes. Draco stood there helplessly, watching photos, clothes and books rushing towards her. He looked across at her.

Tears were rushing down her face silently. He placed one hand on her shoulder in silent support.

"Let's go," she whispered finally.

* * *

I always thought that Hermione was selling herself short going with Ron. This story isn't about Draco giving Hermione a makeover and turning her into an 'elegant eligible woman', but about Hermione taking back her strength and pride. Her life has been all about Ron since leaving Hogwarts and all about helping Ron and Harry. She will become independent and take the Wizarding world by storm, no longer held back!


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione traversed Diagon Alley, trying to find the address scrawled on the piece of paper she held in her hand. Finally she stopped by Flourish and Blotts. She whispered the word on the piece of paper and a bright red front door appeared. When she entered, there was a flight of stairs leading upwards.

The flat above Flourish and Blotts was beautiful. Empty bookshelves were in every room, except the bathroom. Hermione glowed as she imagined all her books on the shelves. The living room had a bay window overlooking Diagon Alley, but the noises of the street did not reach up here. The kitchen was large and the existing cupboards and shelves were of a pleasant dark wood. The surfaces were black marble. The bedroom was large with windows also looking onto Diagon Alley.

She would have to furnish and decorate it all. Hermione smiled. With this and Lucius' court case, she would be very busy.

There was a knock at the door. A small man with a grey beard poked his head around and entered.

"Well, Miss Granger?" he said, seeing her smile.

"I love it, I'll take it, Mr Diggle" she said excitedly.

Daedalus Diggle smiled at the young war heroine.

"Well, it's yours. As you can see, it's ready to move in to. I've got a cottage in the Cotswolds now and I moved all my furniture out a week ago. You should pop in for a cup of tea sometime."

"Thank you Daedalus, I'd love to."

They shook hands, and Hermione said she would transfer the money for the flat that afternoon. She looked around once more and then left, an excited smile on her face.

* * *

Hermione's parents were understandably concerned about her well being.

With her old bedroom now full of boxes and Hermione working late every night, they didn't know whether she was coming or going. She left before breakfast each morning and didn't return until after midnight each night.

So they were understandably surprised when she turned up at midday on Friday, a wide smile on her face.

"I've found a flat," she said brightly. They put their cups and saucers down and Jane cleared her throat.

"Hermione, we've hardly seen you this past week. You haven't told us anything about your break up with Ron and when he came around the other night, you made us pretend we were out!"

"I can't face him yet, but you saw the Prophet, didn't you?"

Richard Granger cleared his throat disapprovingly.

"Yes, we did. He doesn't deserve you, but are you sure you're okay?"

Hermione smiled at them both. She really was fine, but should she be, after only a week? The Prophet had revealed Ron's philandering ways, which apparently had been going on for much longer than that one night. Lavender Brown had exposed the story, but for once, she was not one of the guilty party. There were photos and eye witness statements. Lavender had come to Hermione with the evidence, wondering what to do. Hermione had felt a stab of betrayal as she looked at the numerous photos, but it was more about friendship than romance. Had Ron no respect for her, to dishonour and lie to her like this? She told Lavender to publish it all and the two had shared a conspiratorial smile.

The consequent fallout had been incredible.

"I'm really fine," she said. "It was over for a long time before that, and I think it was our years of friendship that made us drag it out."

Her parents looked hesitant, but smiled.

"You must come and visit when I'm settled. I'll have a dinner party!"

Richard and Jane laughed.

"We'll look forward to it."

Hermione glared at them playfully.

"I'll have you know I cooked for Ron for years."

Her parents shared a glance.

"Harry told us he sneaked home and got food from his mother most nights," Richard said.

Hermione clenched her fists, suddenly angry. She marched upstairs to her room and her parents let her go, understanding that there would be fallout from her six-year relationship for a while.

She gathered her boxes and sent them, with a wave of her wand, to her new flat, then went to say goodbye to her parents.

Hermione had the rest of today and the weekend to sort out her new home before work on Monday.

* * *

After she had visited Gringotts to transfer over the money for her flat, she went furniture shopping. There was a part of Diagon Alley which sold antique and bespoke furniture and Hermione headed there first.

She found an oak four poster bed with red curtains. It reminded her of her Hogwarts bed and Hermione fell in love with it at first sight. The proprietor promised to deliver it later, but Hermione didn't want anyone knowing where she lived. She asked permission to shrink her purchases down and the proprietor agreed. That sorted, she picked out a kitchen table, two bedside tables, a wardrobe and dresser, and some chest of drawers for her clothes. Then she found two squashy red sofas and two armchairs and a mahogany coffee table. She found a mahogany dining table to match and some glass fronted cabinets for her china.

Done for now, Hermione paid and left, heading towards the paint shop. The owner of the shop was very helpful, showing her how to apply the paint with a simple spell.

Back at her flat, she looked around. Her front door opened out onto the living room and to her right, a door led to the dining room. In front of her, an archway led through to the kitchen. Beyond the living room, to her left, two doors were on the far wall. One led to the bathroom and the other, to her bedroom. She decided to decorate her bedroom first.

She decided on a dark blue paint with gold patterns. She waved her wand and the four walls turned a beautiful midnight blue and the delicate gold patterns made it look magical. She kept the dark floorboards bare. Then she took out her shrunken purchases and placed them in position. The bed rose to its full size, but she thought the curtains would look better in blue. She waved her wand. Much better. The wardrobe stood empty and Hermione smiled. She had beautiful clothes to fill that. She rummaged through the boxes in the living room, finding her box of clothes and put them away in the wardrobe and chest of drawers.

The bookcase next to the window she arranged with her favourite novels. Austen, Wilde, Dickens and Bronte had pride of place.

Now she just needed curtains, lamps and rugs.

The bathroom was pretty much ready as it was, so Hermione just moved in her wash products and made a note to buy a set of towels.

The living room had bookcases lining most of the walls apart from where the fireplace was. The walls and the fireplace were of stone. She decided to charm the ceiling to look like the sky outside. It took her an hour of complicated spellwork before it was actualised. She gazed up in pleasure. Clouds drifted lazily across her ceiling.

Her sofas and armchairs were put in position, facing the fireplace and the coffee table just in front of them. As she unpacked her books into the bookcases, the boxes dwindled in size. Finally, she looked around, pleased. She needed a desk, in the corner, for work and the window seat needed some cushions, but otherwise, it was very cosy.

She painted the dining room a duck egg blue with silver patterns and put the dining table, chairs and china cabinets in place. She unpacked her paintings from the boxes and hung them on the wall. It looked elegant. The bay window looked out onto Diagon Alley and Hermione watched the hustle and bustle below. She caught sight of Ginny and Harry, walking along hand in hand, Ginny looking quite far along now. Their first child was due in three months.

She moved away from the window and headed into the kitchen. She placed the kitchen table by the archway that led into the dining room. There was a green AGA on the wall beside the window, which looked out onto the terrace. Hermione opened the kitchen door and stepped out. The roof terrace was lovely. There was a hot tub in the corner and benches and plants. It was the view, however, that was incredible. Hermione could see over Diagon Alley and beyond, to Muggle London. She could see up to Westminster and the river; the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

Hermione glanced at her watch. Half six. She had a dinner with Draco and Eloise tonight to discuss how the case was going. Her perfectionist streak was punishing her now. She could go shopping for everything else, or have a shower and get ready for dinner.

Hermione nodded. She would do both.

She rushed to the shops and bought lamps for the living room and bedroom, bed linens, a desk, cushions, sheepskin rugs for the floor and curtains for every room in the house. She bought a set of white towels for the bathroom, a flower patterned bone china set for the dining room and a cheaper set for everyday. Then she went to the supermarket and stocked up on food, buying kitchen utensils, a kettle and a toaster along the way.

Returning to the flat, she waved her wand in quick succession as the food made its way into cupboards, the china set arranged itself in the glass fronted cabinets, the curtains were hung, the cushions flew onto the sofa and armchairs, the desk and chair flew into the corner of the living room and the lamps made their way onto her bedside table, desk and every nook and cranny in the living room. Her towels were folded neatly in the bathroom and the sheepskin rugs arranged themselves on each side of her bed. Then she went to the bedroom and made up her bed with the new linen. Gold thread duvet cover and pillow cases with a dark blue sheet.

With a sigh, she sat. She was exhausted. She looked at her watch. Half past seven. Hermione leapt up and jumped into the shower quickly. She ran her comb, dipped in potion, through her wet hair, then waved her wand to dry it. She searched quickly through her wardrobe, picking out a blue fitted dress and pulled on a blazer. She slid her feet into wedges and applied her make up. Then, with one last hurried look in the mirror, she apparated to the restaurant.

Draco caught her as she appeared.

"Steady, Granger."

Hermione smiled at him.

"You're never late, Granger, what's happened?"

Hermione stood up straight, letting go of Draco's arm.

"I was decorating my new flat."

Draco smiled.

"You found one?"

"I found one, bought it, decorated and furnished it," Hermione said proudly, thinking of her new beautiful home.

Draco shook his head.

"Granger, you're so impatient. You had the whole weekend to do it."

Hermione led the way into the restaurant, where Eloise was already sitting.

"Now I can concentrate on the case," she said happily.

As they waited for their food, they discussed the case. Hermione informed them that Ginny had agreed to testify, and that Harry would as well. It meant that the world would be finding out about the horcruxes, so it was big news that they had agreed.

Draco said that his mother would testify, but that there were a few legal steps to go through before she could.

"As my parents had a traditional Pureblood marriage, she is bound by an obedience clause. She cannot testify if he does not wish it, but she does. So, we have to emancipate her from the obedience clause before the trial. Her evidence would be very valuable to us, as she is privy to many secrets."

"But we haven't drafted a law yet to emancipate Pureblood wives," Eloise said, her eyes glinting behind her glasses. Hermione had learnt in the last week that Eloise loved a challenge. They would get this law passed, no matter what.

"I'll draft it tomorrow and take it to Kingsley," Hermione said.

"I'll send my parents marriage contract to your office, Granger. It may be faster to change that than to pass a general law," Draco said, making a note.

"And I want to testify," Draco continued. "You could too, Granger. You could give your memory of him at the Manor."

Hermione paled. On her arm, the scar branding her a Mudblood still remained. It tingled every now and again, when she felt out of her comfort zone.

"Anything to put him away," she said, "but I don't think I can, as prosecuting counsel."

"Conflict of interest," Eloise said. "But Malfoy, you have the same memory, so why don't you do it?"

Draco nodded.

"Very well."

Their food arrived, and conversation was halted for the moment. Hermione dug in eagerly. She had forgotten, again, to eat. Hermione thought back to her parents' revelation that Ron had gone back to Molly's for food. Hermione knew she was a good cook. She spent time and care on her evening meals, and had always tried to serve different dishes. And still that wasn't enough! This was just another way that Ron had rejected her.

The wine flowed after their food was finished, and they veered off the subject of the case. Hermione told them both about her new flat.

"How are you about Ron?" Eloise asked, concerned about her newest protegee. The Wizarding world had taken Hermione's side completely after the break up. Harry and Ginny weren't speaking to Ron and had pestered her with owls all week, begging to meet. Hermione sighed. She would have them around tomorrow.

"I'm fine, really," Hermione said. "Of course, as a friend, I feel betrayed. He should have just told me it was over. Then again, I should have told him too."

"You haven't even spoken to him, have you?" Draco asked. Hermione shook her head.

"No. He's tried to contact me a few times, but I haven't answered. I've nearly sorted myself out now. I have a new place, a new job, the beginnings of a new life without him."

Eloise looked formidably angry.

"You're being far too mature," she said disapprovingly.

Draco laughed.

"I agree," he said. "You need to show him up. Turn up somewhere looking fabulous and cut him deep with a few witty remarks, on the arm of a handsome man."

Hermione laughed.

"I just need somewhere to look fabulous to."

* * *

Arriving home that night, Hermione eased off her wedges and sank onto one of her sofas. She lit the fire with a mutter and a wave of her wand and basked in the warm glow. Then she looked up at the ceiling. The sky was clear on this warm summer night and the stars were out in full force. She wriggled in delight. She had a new home, one that she had decorated the way she wanted it. She could cook for herself, get in the shower when she liked, take up the whole bed. With that thought, Hermione got up and got ready for bed. She pulled on a white t-shirt and girls boxer shorts, and slid under her new covers, quickly falling asleep.

Without setting an alarm, Hermione woke at 10pm the next day. She stretched happily in her soft bed and slid her bare feet out onto the sheepskin rug. She hummed as she filled the kettle and put it on, then got out a frying pan and started making pancake batter. As she was flipping pancakes, her owl arrived, leaving a letter on the kitchen table. Five minutes later, she sat down and began to eat her steaming pancakes and fresh coffee, then opened her letter.

_Hermione, _

_Please talk to us. We can't imagine how hard it is for you to go through this alone. Where are you staying, are you alright? Please answer us, we're so worried about you. _

_Harry and Ginny_

Hermione sighed, then finished her breakfast. She scrabbled in her last remaining box, emptying it onto her desk and arranging the parchment, envelopes, quills and ink neatly.

She grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a reply.

_Harry and Ginny, _

_Would you like to come over today and see my new flat? It is in Diagon Alley. Go to Flourish and Blotts. Await a further owl. _

_Hermione_

She sent the letter off hurriedly and then went over to the fireplace, retrieving a piece of parchment from a loose stone just under the mantel. On it were instructions on how to re-ward the flat. It was Daedalus' password she had used last time, when it still belonged to him, and right now, her flat was unprotected. She settled down by the fireplace, tracing runes in the ashes, and began.

An hour later, she was grey and shaking. She had Unplotted the flat, hidden the entrance and re-set the password. She would need to do further protection wards later. She looked outside and saw Harry and Ginny outside, looking uncertain.

She scribbled another owl and watched as it flew down to them.

Not long after, they were climbing her staircase.

"Hermione?" Harry called and Hermione answered, coming to meet them at the top.

"Welcome to my new home," she said, eyes bright as they entered the living room. Ginny sat down with a sigh in one of the armchairs.

"This is amazing, Hermione. How did you find this? Did the furniture come with it?"

Harry was looking around the whole flat eagerly.

"No, Ginny, it's all me. The flat belonged to Daedalus Diggle, who has now moved to a cottage in the Cotswolds."

"Ron's going crazy," Harry said, sitting on one of the sofas. Hermione sat down on the other with a sigh.

"He doesn't deserve to talk to her!" Ginny hissed, glaring at Harry.

"I know, Gin, but he is Ron. He's one of your oldest friends, Hermione."

Hermione glared at him.

"There's a reason I barred you from my office," she said. "Why are you taking his side?"

Harry sighed.

"He's been telling me how you never made time for him. You were always working, and you never went anywhere together as a couple."

"It takes two, Harry, and I never cheated on him."

"I know, he was wrong to do that, and so many times. I know, Hermione."

Ginny looked earnestly at Hermione.

"Mum and Dad aren't talking to him and neither is George. Bill and Charlie punched him and Harry here, despite what he's saying to you, yelled at Ron until he was scarlet in the face. Everyone is on your side."

Hermione looked at Harry, who looked embarassed.

"Of course I'm on your side," he muttered finally. "I just wish he'd grow up and stop being a fool. He won't be pleased that you aren't all pathetic without him."

"She's Hermione Granger," Ginny scoffed, "of course she isn't. You look really good."

"Your...hair looks good," Harry said awkwardly.

"Courtesy of Draco Malfoy," Hermione said, smirking. Harry's face darkened.

"I never understood why you became friends with him when you went back to Hogwarts. Fair enough, if it wasn't for him, I'd be dead, but I'll be dammed if I'm going to forget everything he did to us during school."

Ginny laughed.

"He's helping put his father away. He's apologised and so have you. And Hermione here gave him humility."

Ginny and Hermione exchanged glances. Harry didn't seem to notice their silent communication.

"So, lunch?" Hermione asked.

"Yes please," Ginny said, rubbing her swollen belly. "And are you going to get dressed?"

Hermione looked down and laughed. She showered quickly and dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, before heading to the kitchen and preparing lunch.

They all sat around the dining room table, eating ham sandwiches and crisps and salad, and chatting. Ginny and Harry were pleased to see Hermione so confident and brilliant again.

"You seem so much better without Ron," Ginny said sadly. "Of course, I would have loved to have you as a sister, but you seem happy now."

"I am," Hermione said, smiling.

After lunch, Harry and Ginny left to do some shopping and Hermione sat at her desk, starting the long process of drafting a law.

* * *

An owl landed on her desk and she realised belatedly that it was dark. She waved her wand, lighting the fire and the lamps around the room and soon she could see. She opened the letter.

_Hermione, _

_Lucius Malfoy has Narcissa at wandpoint. Knows we are watching. He is threatening to kill her unless we leave her out of it and she can't defend herself. How is that law coming along?_

_Harry_

Hermione gasped and looked down at her work. It was roughly drafted, but it would have to do. She grabbed her cloak and apparated to the Ministry.

Kingsley, thankfully, was in his office.

"The emancipation law for you," she gasped, handing over the thick parchment. "It's a general one, so all Pureblood wives will have the obedience clause revoked."

Kingsley ran a cursory glance through it.

"I'll summon the Wizengamot," he said.

"There's a bit of a rush. I had an owl from Harry. Lucius is threatening to kill Narcissa and she can't lift her wand against him. We won't get it passed in time. I'm going to have to do it from their marriage contract."

"But that's blood magic. Will the law reverse that?"

Hermione looked grim.

"I'll be back in ten minutes," she said, rushing to her office. She found the Malfoy marriage contract and quickly scribbled down, referring to her new law, a reversal which would revoke this particular obedience clause. Thankfully, having written in Latin all day, hers was fairly fluid. Then she rushed back upstairs.

"Are you a Pureblood?" she asked. Kingsley nodded. Hermione smiled.

"That's lucky. Prick your finger and press it to the parchment."

He did it quickly.

She withdrew her wand and tapped the parchment several times, muttering under her breath. A green fire erupted from the blood and engulfed the parchment. When the flames cleared, the obedience clause had disappeared.

Kingsley looked at her in amazement.

Hermione scribbled a note to Harry, but as hers sent, another arrived.

_Narcissa has gone. Whatever you did, well done. _

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"It worked," she said.

Kingsley suddenly chuckled.

"I want to promote you," he said. "Is it too soon?"

Hermione laughed.

"It was just a matter of speeding up what I had calculated already. Good thing I had their contract from Malfoy. He's so organised, he only said he'd send it last night."

"Would you prefer an active prosecuting position, or one buried in paperwork?"

Hermione looked up at him.

"Oh, you're serious? Well, I have always wanted to re-word some of those Pro-Pureblood laws."

"Done," Kingsley said.

Hermione shook her head slowly.

"Maybe later. We have a lot of Death Eaters to put away first."

Hermione said goodnight and apparated home. She went straight to the kitchen and made steak and chips, and poured a glass of wine. It had been another long hard day.

As she finished dinner, an owl arrived.

_Granger, _

_I'd like to see your new flat. Are you still up for a nightcap?_

_Malfoy_

Hermione blushed and sent back a reply, telling him the password to her flat.

She washed up and cleaned the table, then settled down by the fire with the bottle of wine, a glass waiting for Draco.

When he arrived, he smiled as he surveyed her glowing face, pensive by the fire.

"Granger," he said, enjoying the way she jumped suddenly, then scowled.

He sat, languidly, on the sofa, draping his arm across the back where it gently touched Hermione's shoulder. She smiled softly.

"Thank you for helping my mother. That was an extraordinary piece of magic pulled off in a very short amount of time."

"Tell me about it," Hermione laughed. "It was so stressful, I'm glad she got away."

"She's safe now, and will be watched by Aurors until the trial. Not long to go now."

They drifted into a companionable silence as Draco sipped his wine. His thoughts drifted back to their brief romance in their Eighth Year at Hogwarts. They had kissed, wildly, after the Christmas party and one thing had led to another. Hermione was remorseful, shocked that she had given away her first time to Draco, and not to Ron, as she had planned. While she and Ron had not been officially together at that point, she still loved him. She had left Draco, choosing to be with Ron instead.

"Do you ever wish you had chosen differently?" Draco asked.

Hermione glanced at him. His expression was guarded.

"Yes," she said finally, looking into the fire.

Draco took a deep breath and his face relaxed.

"Granger, there's a gala next Friday night at the Ministry to commemorate 7 years since the war. Would you come with me? It will be your chance to look fabulous."

Hermione looked at him, knowing what this would mean. She was originally going to go with Ron. This would truly be the end of them, the end of her guilt at those dreams about Draco and the beginning of something that could have started more than 6 years ago.

"Yes," she said, smiling at him.

He drained his glass and stood.

"I will leave you to sleep," he said, "I need to get back to my mother."

He bent down and kissed her forehead gently, then left.

Hermione sighed as she remembered that night. She had never felt fulfilled, romantically, since. Ron had been brief and selfish, never tender. She would never regret Draco Malfoy being her first. It had been a wonderful night.

* * *

Ron sat glumly on the sofa, wishing Hermione were there to make him hot chocolate. His bed was cold, the kitchen bare. She had loved him and he had trodden all over her.

There was a knock at the door and shuffled over to open it.

Silver-blonde hair shone in the moonlight.

"Malfoy? What do you want?" he grumbled.

Draco smirked.

"I just wanted to thank you for being such a fool as to let Hermione go."

Ron scowled.

"It's none of your business."

Draco simply smirked again.

"It could be my business, very soon," he said, before disapparating away.

Ron was left glaring at empty space, dreading what Malfoy could mean.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione sat in her office on Monday morning, sipping coffee and running through some notes for the trial. It was on Wednesday, and she was rehearsing. Ginny would be there later to go through her evidence.

Hermione's assistant, Jenny, came in with the morning's post.

"Post, Miss Granger. Do you have anything for me?"

Hermione handed over the letters she had written that morning.

"I've sent the internal post," she said.

The inter-departmental memos were very irritating. They whizzed around the corridors, sometimes causing injury.

Jenny left and Hermione opened her post. Ginny would be arriving at 11 to go through her witness statement. Draco had a surprise for her and wanted to meet for lunch. Ron was sorry. Harry was stopping by at 4 to go through his witness statement.

It was all pulling together.

She started practising.

When Ginny arrived, out of breath, Hermione rushed her into a seat and got her a glass of water.

"I'm getting so big!" she gasped.

"It will all be over on Wednesday and then you can get into bed for your last three months," Hermione joked.

"Don't be silly!" Ginny exclaimed, swatting Hermione's arm playfully. "I'll be fine in a minute."

Ginny grew paler and paler as she read out her carefully prepared witness statement. She had put it together with Harry yesterday. Hermione gave her tips on some of her sentences.

"Just present the facts," she said gently, as Ginny described how it had made her feel. "You don't need to convince him. The burden is on him to defend himself, in this court of law anyway."

Ginny took a deep breath, crossing out the parts that were no longer necessary, and the two perfected her statement.

"Star witness," Hermione proclaimed her, as she sat back.

"Are we done?" Ginny asked, surprised.

"All done. Now just rest and take it easy till Wednesday."

Ginny hugged her.

"You're amazing, 'Mione," she said fondly. Hermione blushed.

Ginny left and Hermione glanced at the clock. It was near enough lunchtime to meet Draco.

They met outside Madam Malkin's. Draco looked suppressed with excitement.

"My mother helped," he said, by way of introduction, cheeks flushed. He walked into Madam Malkins and Hermione followed, curious.

"We're here to pick it up," he said to Madam Malkin, who smiled at the handsome young man. Hermione's breath caught in her throat as he looked back at her. He looked extraordinarily handsome today, Hermione thought. His silvery-blonde hair fell over his forehead and his eyes were a molten silver.

Madam Malkin brought out a garment bag.

"It's a dress," he said, "for the gala."

Hermione went to open it, but he stopped her.

"No, please, open it alone. I have no idea what it looks like. My mother picked it out and I want it to be a surprise."

Hermione nodded.

"Thanks Malfoy," she said.

Draco had a very odd expression on his face.

"That's the first time you've ever thanked me," he said.

Hermione opened her mouth to contradict him, but stopped. It was true. She had never thanked him, for anything.

Draco suddenly looked down.

"Hermione, I don't want you to go with me on Friday if you still blame me for anything during the war, for not fighting for you, for taking your virginity."

His expression was slightly cold and serious. Hermione took a deep breath.

"Draco, I don't, truly. And I'm glad you did, take it, I mean."

She blushed.

Draco smiled slightly.

"I'd better get back," she said.

Draco watched her go, then went back to work.

He made a tour of the labs that afternoon, questioning the potioneers in his employ. Knowing a great deal about potions anyway, he discussed their various developments. They were currently working on a potion to cure curse scars. He hoped to be able to present Hermione with the chance to get rid of the scar his Aunt Bellatrix gave her.

Draco's thoughts turned to Hermione. Since her break up with the Weasel, she had gone from strength to strength. Draco had attempted to find a place in her new life, but it had been hard to get close to her. She had been so busy with this case, so busy making this new life and being _happy_, that they hadn't spent a lot of time together. Of course, he had been busy with work, and his mother, and the case, but he had waited six years for this. He wanted her to _need _him, just once.

The gala had to be spectacular.

* * *

Harry and Hermione went over his witness statement that afternoon. Hermione could tell that Harry didn't like reliving the worst moments of his schooldays. It brought back the War, facing Voldemort and dying. It reminded him of all the people who had died in the process, waiting for him to kill You-Know-Who.

"That's good Harry," Hermione said quietly. "To be honest, it doesn't matter too much what you say, or how you word it, because just your presence will convince a lot of people."

"I just want it over with, more for Ginny's sake. She had a horrific time, and nobody really acknowledged it. Her family just swept it under the rug and she's never really spoken about it."

"So to stand up in front of the full Wizengamot and the man who orchestrated the whole thing is going to be..."

"Horrific," Harry finished. "Especially with the baby coming."

"I told her to go home and rest. Why don't we owl Angelina and get her to keep an eye?"

"It's good having a Healer in the family, that's for sure."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, suddenly aware that there was someone missing. Someone who always used to be there, part of their team.

"I miss him," Harry said hesitantly. "I know he's a prick, but he's Ron."

Hermione breathed in sharply through her nose.

"I'm doing okay, Harry, but I still can't face him. I suppose I'll have to on Friday."

"The gala? Weren't you going to go with Ron?"

Hermione gauged Harry's mood. He seemed fairly calm.

"Actually, Malfoy asked me to go with him."

Harry bit his lip.

"He's a twat, Hermione!" Harry growled. "I don't understand your friendship. You aren't...you know, are you?"

Hermione shook her head furiously.

"No, no, it's not like that. We're working together on the case and I helped his mother escape."

"Of course," Harry said, "he's probably just grateful."

He smiled to himself, satisfied with his explanation.

Hermione wondered whether that was Draco's only motivation. There wasn't any...you know...between them at all. Hermione felt a surprising surge of disappointment.

Did she want Malfoy?

* * *

On her way home, Hermione saw Ginny sitting alone at Florean Fortescue's. She took a seat beside her.

"Hermione! You gave me a fright," Ginny said, startled. Hermione lay a calming hand on her arm.

"Are you alright, Gin?" Hermione asked. Ginny looked pale.

"I'm scared. For Wednesday. I'm scared that he is going to belittle what I have to say, that he isn't going to care what he did, or worse, be amused by it. It was so horrible for me, and I...I want him to feel bad."

Hermione looked thoughtful.

"He's a selfish man. I wouldn't hold out hope that he will feel bad, but know that your testimony will put him in a place where over time, he may. He may regret his actions, but you can't expect it."

Ginny smiled softly at Hermione.

"I just can't understand some people. Someone who could give an 11 year old girl a diary which could possess and kill her, and cause her to attempt murder on others. How can someone like that exist?"

"How could Voldemort exist? Or Grindelwald? Or Bellatrix Lestrange? There are terrible people out there, who are insane, or bitter, or bigoted, who will do anything to make the world the way they want it. All we can do is try to stop them."

Ginny nodded.

"And we did," she said. "I guess with the trial, and the gala on Friday, I'm finding myself thinking about the war more and more. About...Fred."

Ginny hiccuped. Hermione gathered Ginny in her arms, comforting her.

"Harry is here, your parents, most of your siblings. You're going to have a beautiful baby, and every day, all the people who caused this hurt are getting their just desserts."

"And as of Wednesday, the world will be a safer place with Lucius Malfoy locked away."

"Everything okay?"

Harry was standing by the table, looking slightly awkward. Hermione let Ginny go.

"Yes," Ginny said, her eyes slightly red. "Let's go home."

They said goodbye to Hermione and left, and she continued on her way home.

Safely in her flat, Hermione sat on the sofa and lit the fire. She needed to talk to Narcissa, to find out what she knew, and they didn't have long left. She owled her, then went and made a cup of strong tea. One more day.

Draco and Narcissa were sitting silently, side by side, in Draco's office. One more day until Lucius would be gone for good, one more day until Narcissa could finally have control over her own life again.

They sighed in relief when the owl arrived, as it meant a break from their thoughts.

"Right, shall we go over now?" Draco said, his voice sounding strange after their long silence.

"Yes," Narcissa whispered.

Hermione had just time to retrieve two further cups when they arrived. Narcissa looked nervous. Here she was, talking to the woman who had freed her, the same woman her traditions had taught her to hate.

"Miss Granger," she said, inclining her head respectfully, "thank you for what you did for me."

"You're welcome, Lady Malfoy. Please, take a seat. Would you like some tea?"

Draco watched Hermione charm his mother with ease. He could tell from the smile on his mother's usually stoic face that she was impressed.

"Thank you, Miss Granger."

Draco left them to it, retreating into the kitchen and searching the fridge. He found the ingredients for a Thai curry and started to cook.

Hermione was transfixed as Narcissa told her about her life. There was too much to give in one day, but Hermione was unwilling to cut it short. To give precedence to one horror over another was unthinkable. Narcissa finally stopped when she could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen.

"Were you cooking?" she asked Hermione.

Hermione crinkled her nose in confusion, then laughed.

"It must be Draco! Cheeky brat, cooking in my kitchen!"

She jumped up and went to the kitchen. Draco was there in an apron, stirring the curry and humming to himself.

"Malfoy! The cheek of you!" She exclaimed, slapping him on the arm. He yelped.

"I was being nice!" he said. "It's one of my specialities! I thought you might be hungry after all that talking."

Hermione felt a sudden rush of affection for him. He stood there, eyes wide. Then she caught sight of the apron.

"Malfoy, why are you wearing my Kath Kidston apron?" she cried, mirth bubbling up inside her. She burst out laughing. Malfoy in a pink patterned apron. Malfoy, who only seemed to wear black and grey, in pink.

Narcissa came up behind her to see what she was laughing at. She allowed herself an amused smile. Malfoy looked in bewilderment at Hermione, then started to see the funny side. He smiled properly, the expression looking somewhat unnatural on his face. Narcissa looked at him in amazement. When he started to laugh, she nearly fainted. She hadn't seen Draco laugh since he was three.

Hermione gained control over herself finally, leaning on the door jamb for support.

"Is it nearly ready?" she managed to ask.

Draco nodded.

Five minutes later, Hermione sat down to dinner with Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. Whenever she started to think how strange it was, Draco or Narcissa would say something, and she would be pulled back into the conversation. She forgot how odd it was that two former Death Eaters were in her, a Mudblood's, home, and just enjoyed their company.

Finally, they excused themselves, and Hermione asked Narcissa to come into the office tomorrow.

Draco smiled at her with such warmth as he left that Hermione was full of butterflies for hours, unable to sleep.

* * *

She sat exhausted at her desk the next morning, sorting through her paperwork. Harry and Ginny's affidavits were written neatly and lay on her desk and she was reading a big tome on cross examination. Kingsley came to her office around ten.

"Are we nearly ready, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded.

"Narcissa is coming in to tell her side of the story. I heard parts of it last night. There's a lot, Kingsley, and I'm not sure it will be done in one day."

Kingsley sat down. He gestured to Ginny and Harry's statements.

"May I?"

Hermione nodded, focused on her book.

Kingsley was shocked at what he read.

"This happened at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore didn't notice?"

Hermione sighed.

"I don't know whether he noticed. There's a grey line with Dumbledore, in case you hadn't noticed."

"That's barbaric," Kingsley said, handing them back to her. "Is Narcissa's worse?"

"Well, that depends how you look at it. She's an adult and they were children, so in a sense, Ginny's ordeal was worse, but it only happened once. Narcissa was tortured, witnessed torture, murder, and was forced to commit it herself over a 20 year period."

"Are there any witnesses for the defence?"

Hermione laughed shortly.

"No. Who would?"

Kingsley smiled.

"I'll leave you to it."

* * *

After Narcissa's statement, Hermione felt sick. It was written neatly, over 20 pages.

"We go first, so on Wednesday morning I'll sum up, then I'll call Ginny, then Harry. Cross-examination, then hopefully we'll get to you by Wednesday afternoon, or Thursday morning at the latest. Ah, and there's Draco as well. Then we'll have the defence statement, and as there are no witnesses, it shouldn't take too long.

"Then the Judge will sum up, the Wizengamot will vote and the sentence will be decided. Two days at the most."

Narcissa nodded.

"I can't believe it's tomorrow."

"Tomorrow will come soon enough."

Hermione kept herself busy that day and that evening, heading to bed early.

* * *

The day of the trial arrived and Hermione was in the courtroom at 6, dressed in her court robes. She arranged all her papers and books on the benches.

Her assistants arrived at half six.

Eloise arrived at seven, with Harry, Ginny and Draco in tow.

"Narcissa will be here in a minute," Draco said to Hermione, "she's just gathering herself."

Hermione nodded weakly. Draco reached for her hand and held it tightly.

"You'll be amazing," he said.

Ginny and Harry noticed the moment, but instead of it making him angry, Harry smiled softly. For all Ron's Gryffindor qualities and good family, he had never supported her like that.

"Those two will get together," Ginny said, "mark my words."

The Wizengamot filed in around eight am and finally, Lucius Malfoy and his defence counsel arrived. Hermione clenched her jaw in anger as she saw who it was. Dolores Umbridge. Why had she not been put away? Why was she in a court of law?

Kingsley took his seat and started proceedings.

"Good morning, all. We are here to try Lucius Malfoy. He has been accused of being a Death Eater, of torturing Muggles, attempted murder, torture, the use of all three Unforgivable Curses and of aiding and abetting known criminals. Lucius Cornelius Malfoy, stand."

Lucius stood smoothly, shooting a look over at his wife and son, who sat pale and tense in the benches behind the prosecution.

"How do you plead?"

Lucius smiled.

"Not guilty."

There was a cry of outrage from the Wizengamot. Kingsley looked around slowly and they fell silent.

"I call upon Miss Eloise Hopkins to start proceedings."

Eloise stood up.

"My esteemed judge and jury, I call before you today four key witnesses, who will attest to the crimes that Mr Malfoy has been accused of. They will profess knowledge of his attempt to murder Muggleborns at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his torture of Muggles and prisoners of war and his desire to see Lord Voldemort come to power."

"Mr Malfoy is guilty of these crimes. I have memories, which when shared, will condemn him to nothing less than a life sentence in Azkaban. Added to his crimes is a wanton arrogance of manner. He believes Purebloods are superior and has fought to that end.

"I will prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that Mr Malfoy is guilty of the crimes he has been accused of. I now call upon Miss Hermione Granger."

Hermione stood, shaking.

"I call Ginny Potter to the stand," she said, and Ginny was helped up the steps into the witness box. She swore on her magic that what she said would be truth and sat.

"Mrs Potter, I call on you to tell the court about your first year at Hogwarts."

With a deep breath, Ginny began.

"After my trip to Diagon Alley to get my books, I found an old diary wedged in one of my textbooks. I opened it and soon discovered that I could write in it and that it would write back.

"Over the next few months at school, I grew to rely on the diary more and more. I told the person in the diary, Tom Riddle, all about my life. I felt sick, weak and unable to deal with the teasing of my brothers. Then I started having blackouts. I once woke up covered in blood, with rooster feathers all over me. Other times, I woke up in areas of the castle where I shouldn't have been, and then heard screams and cries. I always woke up after a blackout when someone had been Petrified. I had no idea it was me. On the night when I was trapped in the Chamber, Tom Riddle came out of the diary. He looked like a ghost at first, but he was becoming more corporeal with every moment I grew weaker. The next thing I remember, Harry was lying on the floor with a wound on his arm and Tom was gone. Fawkes came and healed Harry, then we left the Chamber. The diary had been destroyed."

Hermione nodded at Ginny.

"And, from that memory of your First Year, what do you suppose happened?"

"With hindsight, I learned that Tom Riddle was none other than Lord Voldemort before he changed his name. He had put a part of his soul into the diary, to make a Horcrux."

There was a gasp of outrage and angry muttering broke out among the Wizengamot. Kingsley raised his hand.

"That Horcrux was given to me, and it then proceeded to possess me. I was possessed by Lord Voldemort, and what I did during those blackouts of memory was to call the basilisk and use it to attempt to kill Muggleborns. Lucius Malfoy gave me the diary so that I would open the Chamber."

"Objection!" Dolores Umbridge cried.

"On what grounds?" asked Kingsley coldly.

"Conjecture," Umbridge said, smirking.

"Objection sustained," Kingsley said wearily.

"Thank you, Mrs Potter," Hermione said, nodding to Ginny to leave the stand.

"I now call upon Narcissa Malfoy to prove that Lucius Malfoy did indeed own the diary and knew what it did."

Narcissa stood up fluidly and walked gracefully to the stand. She stared at her husband as she swore to tell the truth. His face was impassive.

"Mrs Malfoy, can you please tell us what you know about the diary."

"The diary was given to my husband years ago by Lord Voldemort and he was told to keep it safe until his return. My husband knew that it contained a memory of Tom who would possess whoever had the diary and open the Chamber of Secrets. I have a memory to that effect."

Hermione glanced at Kingsley.

"Mrs Malfoy, would you be so kind as to perform a simple spell?"

Narcissa muttered Lumos, and the tip of her wand lit.

"As you can see, Narcissa is telling the truth, or her magic would be forfeit. We can examine the memory later if necessary. Thank you, Mrs Malfoy."

Umbridge started whispering with Lucius. She seemed to realise that every accusation would be backed up by Narcissa's testimony.

He was already found guilty of conspiring to murder Muggleborns.

"I now call Harry Potter to the stand."

As expected, there was a flutter of interest as Harry took the stand and was sworn in.

"Mr Potter," Hermione said, smiling at Harry, "please begin."

"In my second year, at Flourish and Blotts, I saw Mr Malfoy putting the diary into Ginny's textbook. I also saw him come to Hogwarts later, trying to force Dumbledore out. I believe that was his true intention all along, but along the way, a lot of people were hurt."

"Thank you, Mr Potter. Now, could you perform a simple spell for me?"

Harry duly lit his wand and departed the stand.

Hermione wondered whether Umbridge was going to attempt any cross-examination.

"Miss Umbridge?" Kingsley asked. "Miss Granger has presented her evidence for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. Would you like to take your turn with the witnesses?"

Umbridge stood, a sickly smile plastered on her flabby face.

"I call Ginny Potter to the stand."

Ginny, looking quite pale, stood and was helped onto the stand again. She was sworn in again and sat.

"Mrs Potter, when you first found out you had this diary, what did you do? How did you know to write in it?"

Umbridge spoke slowly, patronisingly, like Ginny was still only 11 years old.

"I was intrigued by it. I had spilt some ink on it, but when I opened the diary, the ink had gone. I wrote my name, and someone answered. That's how it began."

"Did you tell anyone about this diary? Did it not seem suspicious to you?"

"I didn't tell anyone. Even if I had, there would have been no time to get my parents on their own and in a mood to listen. The diary became my only friend."

Harry smiled supportively at Ginny.

"When you woke up after your first blackout and found out what you had done, how did you feel?"

"Disorientated, then shocked and horrified. I threw the diary away, down the toilet in one of the girls' bathrooms."

"But clearly you retrieved it, because the attacks continued."

"By that time, Tom was so much a part of me that I needed him back. Harry had found the diary. I stole it back from him."

"Would you say that you were aware of your actions while doing this?"

Ginny paled even further.

"Yes."

"I see," Umbridge said. "I would like to put forward to the court that Ginny Potter knew exactly what she was doing. That even once she had found out what she had done while she was possessed, she carried on. She chose to be possessed."

Hermione sat silent, dumbfounded. Harry whispered something to her.

"Objection," Hermione said.

Kingsley looked hopeful.

"On what grounds?"

"My esteemed colleague has no experience of being possessed by Lord Voldemort and so cannot make conclusions about Ginny's autonomy."

"Sustained," Kingsley said. "Would you like to present further evidence?"

"I would like to call Harry Potter back to the stand."

Harry stood eagerly and helped Ginny down gently. She was shaking now.

"Harry, please tell us your experience of being possessed by Lord Voldemort."

"I would like your permission to share the experience with the whole court," Harry said.

Kingsley nodded. "Do you know the charm, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded.

Harry withdrew a silvery strand from his temple and placed it in the Penseive provided. Hermione spoke a complicated incantation and then the whole court was writhing in agony.

_Agony, blistering agony. Writhing on the ground, filled with hate and the desire to kill, kill, kill. Malevolent thoughts pervading every membrane. Heat through every vein, like fire. Red, hazy vision. _

Hermione stopped the memory.

Umbridge was coated in a sheen of sweat and she was pallid.

"That's what it's like to be possessed by Lord Voldemort," Harry said casually.

"Would you like to carry on with your questioning, Miss Umbridge?"

Umbridge shook her head.

"Nothing further, Your Honour."

"I suggest a twenty minute break," Kingsley said. "It's now half past ten, be back at ten to 11."

Ginny sipped water, relieved.

"Is that me done now, Hermione?" she asked hopefully.

Hermione nodded.

"Yes Ginny, you and Harry are both finished. Will you watch the rest of the case?"

They both nodded.

"Harry, that was horrible before. No wonder Kingsley called a break."

"Well, it did the job didn't it?" Harry said, hugging Ginny tightly.

"You're steamrollering him," Eloise said, clapping Hermione on the shoulder. "And with Draco and Narcissa this afternoon, we should have this tied up by teatime."

Hermione laughed.

"And why have they got Umbridge?"

Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

"He probably couldn't get anyone else to defend him," she surmised.

Draco came over.

"So, it's me next. I show the memory to everyone, and then it's Mother."

He looked pale and stressed. Hermione laid a comforting hand on his arm.

"It'll be over soon," she said.

"I know, it's just that the worst is yet to come."

Draco looked at Hermione steadily, and for one long second, they stared at each other, memorising.

Hermione smiled, suddenly nervous about the intensity of his gaze.

"Hermione!" Eloise called. She broke Draco's gaze and turned away.

"My son, you're mad about her," Narcissa said, amusement in her tone.

Draco sighed.

"I don't know how seriously she thinks of me. I've been such a coward, Mother. She chose Ron over me six years ago and she still hasn't spoken to him. What if she takes him back?"

"Don't be stupid. Hermione Granger would never put up with a philandering man."

Draco smiled.

"And you are good enough for her," Narcissa said. "You're both bright, and witty and kind and you make an incredible team."

"I just have to make her believe that."

Draco was the first to take the stand when the court came back.

Hermione performed the same charm on the Penseive as last time, and the whole court was thrust into one of Hermione's most painful memories.

_Bellatrix stood, panting slightly, looking down at the sword, examining its hilt. Then she turned to look at the silent prisoners._

_"If it is indeed Potter, he must not be harmed," she muttered, more to herself than to the others. "The Dark Lord wishes to dispose of Potter himself. . . . But if he ﬁnds out . . . I must . . . I must know. . . ."_

_She turned back to Narcissa again._

_"The prisoners must be placed in the cellar, while I think what_ _to do!"_

_"This is my house, Bella, you don't give orders in my— "_

_"Do it! You have no idea of the danger we're in!" shrieked Bellatrix. She looked frightening, mad; a thin stream of ﬁre issued from her wand and burned a hole in the carpet._

_Narcissa hesitated for a moment, then addressed the werewolf._

_"Take these prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback."_

_"Wait," said Bellatrix sharply. "All except. . . . except for the Mudblood."_

_Greyback gave a grunt of pleasure._

_"No!" shouted Ron. "You can have me, keep me!"_

_Bellatrix hit him across the face: the blow echoed around the room._

_"If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next," she said.__"Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book. Take them downstairs, Greyback, and make sure they are secure, but do nothing more to them—yet."_

_She threw Greyback's wand back to him, then took a short silver knife from under her robes. She cut Hermione free from the other prisoners, then dragged her by the hair into the middle of the room. _

_"Where did you get this sword?" she snarled, as Harry and Ron were taken from the room to the cellar. _

_Hermione didn't answer. _

_"I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?"_

_"We found it. We found it."_

_"You're lying, ﬁlthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, tell the truth!"_

_Bellatrix pulled Hermione's sleeve back, exposing her arm. She dug her knife into the tender flesh of Hermione's forearm and began to carve. _

_Hermione screamed in horror. _

_Lucius was pacing, looking on the scene with excitement. _

_"That's it, mark the Mudblood for what she is!" he cried. _

_"What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!"_

_Hermione sobbed. _

_"We haven't been there, we didn't take anything," she managed, as tears ran down her face. Her arm now spelled M U D. _

_"What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!"_

_Hermione howled in pain as Bellatrix's curse hit her and she writhed on the floor. _

_Draco stepped forward, but Narcissa stopped him. _

_"It will do no good," she whispered to him. _

_How did you get into my vault?" Bellatrix screamed._

_"Did that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"_

_"We only met him tonight!" Hermione sobbed. "We've never been inside your vault. . . . It isn't the real sword! It's a copy, just a copy!"_

_"A copy?" screeched Bellatrix. "Oh, a likely story!"_

_"But we can ﬁnd out easily!" Lucius said. "Draco, go and fetch the goblin, he can tell us whether the sword is real or not!"_

_Draco went down the cellar steps and called, shaking: "Stand back. Line up against the back wall. Don't try anything, or I'll kill you!"_

_He marched inside, wand held out in front of him, pale and determined. He seized Griphook by the arm and backed out of the room, slamming the door. _

_Draco entered and placed Griphook on the floor by Bellatrix. _

_Lucius grabbed Draco's wand and moved closer to Hermione, grabbing her arm. _

_"Now, let's finish what Bella started."_

_He carved into her arm with his wand, finishing the degrading word. _

_Draco watched in horror as his father smiled. _

_Hermione was incoherent with pain, babbling for mercy. _

_When he had finished, he waved his wand over her arm. _

_"Now that will never come off," he said, satisfied. _

_Narcissa was dumb with horror at her husband's actions. _

_Bellatrix then turned to Griphook. _

_"Well, look at it."_

_She thrust the sword into Griphook's hands. _

_"You'd better be telling the truth, girl," Bellatrix said to Hermione, who was crumpled on the floor. _

_"CRUCIO!"_

_Hermione's screams echoed through the large room again as Bellatrix's curse hit her again and again, unyielding. _

_Finally, it stopped, and as it did, Draco heard a crack. _

_"What was that?" Lucius shouted. _

_Narcissa, Greyback and Bellatrix looked at him in confusion. _

_"Did you hear that? What was that noise in the cellar?"_

_Lucius turned to Draco. _

_"Draco—no, call Wormtail! Make him go and check!"_

The memory ended and Hermione sat down, shaking, on the bench.

Lucius was looking into the middle distance, jaw rigid.

Draco was staring at her from the witness box, expression ashamed. She smiled at him softly, letting him know that it was alright. He had been scared, Voldemort was living in their house.

Hermione stood.

"Lucius and Bellatrix's branding remains to this day," she said, exposing her forearm. In livid, scarlet, jagged writing, MUDBLOOD was written.

The court gasped and Lucius turned away.

Hermione turned to Draco.

"Thank you, Mr Malfoy."

Kingsley looked shaken.

"And finally, I call Narcissa Malfoy to the stand."

Narcissa's evidence took the rest of the afternoon. She detailed her life with Lucius Malfoy, how he first followed Voldemort, tortured and killed the Prewetts and the Bones and tortured her and Draco on occasion. She described a life of utmost obedience, of being forced to do unspeakable things because her husband told her to, and of living in fear with Lord Voldemort in their house.

With each act, the entire room thought it could not get worse, but then it did. On a few occasions, she showed memories to support what she was saying.

When she had finished, she performed a Levitation Charm.

The silence in the courtroom was deafening.

Kingsley finally cleared his throat.

"Anything further, Miss Granger?"

"Nothing further, Your Honour," Hermione said, sitting down.

Umbridge stood, twirling a quill between her fingers.

She looked pale and helpless.

She looked at Lucius, who nodded sharply.

"Nothing further, Your Honour."

Kingsley let out a sardonic chuckle.

"I would like to know the answer to one question, Mr Malfoy. Why did you plead not guilty?"

Lucius stood, his aristocratic face still proud.

"They deserved to have their say," he said. "The evils I committed in the name of my ideals could have gone unspoken for a lifetime. I wanted everyone to know what I did. That I orchestrated the attack of Mudbloods and killed those who believed that they could ever have a place in our world. At least I will go away knowing that the world knows how far I went to achieve my ends. There will be another Dark Lord, mark my words, and when he comes, I will be there to follow him."

Hermione frowned and met Draco's eye, who looked confused too.

"That's the most courageous thing you've ever done," Narcissa said. "For once, your actions are not about self-preservation."

Lucius smirked.

"I think I'm safer in there than out here, don't you?"

Narcissa scowled in disgust.

"Now, to sentence," Kingsley said. "My dear men and women of the Wizengamot, the prosecution have proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that Lucius Malfoy is guilty of murder, torture, conspiring to murder and of being a loyal follower of Lord Voldemort. I now ask you to vote. Are you ready?"

The Wizengamot muttered amongst themselves. Then one raised their hand.

"We are ready."

"How do you find Lucius Malfoy?"

"Guilty."

Narcissa started to cry noisily.

"Lucius Malfoy, I sentence you to Azkaban for as long as you shall live. Hand over your wand. You will not be allowed visitors. Take him away."

Hermione conjured a Patronus as two Dementors came through a door and grabbed Lucius between them. Despite the protection of her otter-shaped Patronus, she still felt a chill as they passed her.

"Filthy little Mudblood," Lucius hissed, "if you dare marry my son and sully our bloodline, I will come and kill you."

Draco looked at her, shocked, but nobody else seemed to have heard.

When he had gone, she let out a huge sigh of relief. Kingsley nodded to her and Eloise came over and hugged her.

"Brilliant, Granger. Now, that wasn't too hard for you, was it?"

Hermione laughed.

"He was guilty. All I had to do was present the facts."

"Still, it was very personal, so well done."

Hermione's scar tingled as she recalled that memory. From Draco's point of view, it had been horrible to watch herself being tortured.

It was all over now.

* * *

Next chapter, the gala!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated! I have been job-hunting, with no success so far.

* * *

Friday morning dawned and Hermione felt sick with anticipation. The gala. Kingsley had given her the day off work, and the first thing she did was go to her wardrobe and uncover the dress that Draco had given her.

It was enchanting, forest green and made from a floaty fabric that reached the floor.

Gold thread was spun through it, making it glow softly.

Hermione smiled. Narcissa had good taste.

She read one of her favourite books, _Pride and Prejudice_, by the fire all morning in her dressing gown. Her heart was beating too fast, but she was soon lost in the familiar story.

Around 3pm, Hermione had a bath and performed her ablutions. Emerging with wet, heavy hair, she laughed as water dripped onto the floor. She wrapped a towel around her head and danced around her home naked, feeling silly now that all the heavy drama of the trial was behind her.

She stopped when she looked out of her living room window and saw someone approaching her front door. Hermione ran to her bedroom and flung on her robe, then quickly towel dried her hair and waved her wand, drying it.

"Hermione?" Ginny called up the stairs.

"Up here, Gin," Hermione said.

Ginny emerged with a box in her hands.

"Time to make you beautiful," she said, panting, as she placed the box on the sofa.

Hermione was affronted.

"You don't think I can do it myself?" she asked.

"No, of course I do, I just know you don't have much make up and hair stuff, so I brought mine."

Hermione softened.

"Thanks Gin. You didn't have to come all this way."

Ginny put her hands on her hips.

"Let me see the dress," she demanded. Hermione went to fetch it and Ginny smiled when she saw it.

"Green and gold. A nice blending of Slytherin and Gryffindor," she said, smirking.

"Narcissa picked it out," Hermione said. She looked at it. It was a beautiful blend of the two house colours.

"That explains it. Has Draco seen it?"

"No," Hermione said. She took the dress back into the bedroom and laid it on the bed carefully.

"You need a strapless bra and knickers that won't show through the dress," Ginny said.

"I know, I know, Gin!"

Hermione rooted around in her drawer and selected some underwear, which Ginny approved with a nod. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Now get out and let me dress!"

Hermione faced the floor length mirror as she slipped on her underwear and pulled the dress up over her hips and bust. It was strapless and the material clung to her bosom before flowing outwards down to the ground.

Ginny knocked on the door.

She gasped when she saw Hermione.

"That colour suits you so well. Right, let's get to work. Sit down."

Hermione sat at her dresser and allowed Ginny to work her magic. An hour and a half later, Ginny proclaimed her ready.

"What time is Malfoy coming?" Ginny asked.

"Half past five. Shouldn't you go get ready, Gin?"

Ginny smiled as a knock came at the door.

"Gin? I have your dress," Harry said, emerging around the door in smart dress robes.

Ginny smiled at Hermione in the mirror.

When she had gone, Hermione looked at herself.

Her skin was brown and sparkling. Her hair was up in a Grecian style, with a braid at the front and the rest in an elegant knot. One ringlet was left loose, resting on her shoulder.

Green eyeshadow and black eyeliner made her eyes look smoky. A pale lipgloss coated her lips, leaving them looking natural.

Hermione almost didn't recognise herself.

Ginny wore a black, floor length dress that went well with her baby bump. She glowed and the dress showed off the enhanced cleavage that pregnancy had given her.

Her red hair was down in ringlets, with some gathered up behind to give height. She looked sophisticated and beautiful.

"You look beautiful, Gin," Harry said, eyes suspiciously moist. "You too Hermione."

Hermione smiled softly at Harry. He really was the best man she knew.

The three of them sat on the sofa and waited, chatting comfortably. Harry was nervous, Hermione could tell, about his talk later at the Gala.

Promptly at half past five, they heard Draco coming up the stairs.

He emerged in the living room, a bouquet of white roses and baby's breath in one hand.

Hermione caught her breath as she stood to greet him, and stared.

His pale blonde hair was swept back from his face, with one strand falling into his eyes. His grey eyes were piercing as they looked her over from head to toe.

He was dressed in black dress robes with a silver tie and looked devastatingly handsome.

"Granger," he said slowly, handing out the bouquet to her.

Hermione blushed and accepted it.

"Thank you," she said.

She put them in water, feeling Draco's eyes on her the whole time. It was disconcerting, but not unpleasant.

She put the vase of flowers on her desk and their fragrance permeated the room.

Harry and Ginny took their leave, sombre now that they were leaving for the gala. It was both a celebration and a memorial, and everyone had friends and relatives to mourn and remember.

Hermione took a deep breath as she realised she would have to face Ron soon for the first time since that morning before her first day at work.

"Come on, Granger, let's go," Draco said, drinking in her beauty.

Hermione looked at him, at his steady, handsome face and soft grey eyes, and nodded. She was ready.

* * *

The gala was held in Hogwarts Great Hall.

Hermione smiled as she looked up at the familiar enchanted sky.

The hall was full of hundreds of round tables, with a space clear in the middle of the hall for a dancefloor. The tables were covered with white tablecloths and Hermione spotted familiar faces in the candlelit glow. Susan Bones, looking devastated. Her aunt, Amelia Bones, was murdered during the War. Neville. Andromeda Tonks with Teddy Lupin. Harry and Ginny. Ron and...Romilda Vane.

She felt like she had been punched in the stomach. His betrayal hit her now, as she saw him for the first time since she'd learned the truth.

A warm hand rested on her lower back and suddenly the punch didn't seem so painful.

"Let's find our seats," Draco whispered in her ear, steering her away.

Ron looked up as they walked past, his jaw dropping at the sight of Hermione. Romilda noticed his stare and turned to look. She scowled.

"Over here, 'Mione!" Ginny called, from behind them.

Hermione made her way over to Harry and Ginny's table, which, unfortunately, was also Ron and Romilda's table.

The Potters looked very uncomfortable, but Ginny glared at Ron in warning as they came over.

Hermione sat next to Ginny, across the table from Ron, and Draco slid into a seat next to her.

Draco was already dreading the evening ahead. Ron looked thunderstruck, but that would wear off and then his famous, nasty temper would emerge.

Draco only hoped Ron would give him the excuse to hit him.

"Hi, Aunty Hermione," a small voice said. Hermione turned and looked down.

Teddy Lupin was standing by her chair, little chubby hand reaching out to touch her dress.

"Hi Teddy," Hermione smiled.

"I'm bored," he said, his little, red cheeked face screwing up. "Everyone is just sitting and talking and Grandma has disappeared."

Hermione looked over at the table where Andromeda had been sitting. Her chair was empty.

"Grandma says we remember my mummy and daddy tonight," Teddy continued.

Harry's eyes filled with tears and Ginny held his hand silently.

"Yes," Hermione said, her voice wavering, "your mummy and daddy were two of the bravest people I knew, and they fought to make this world safe for you."

Teddy, his eyes wide, looked thoughtful.

"Can they see me now? Grandma says they can see me and I have to be happy and not miss them so they aren't sad."

Harry cleared his throat.

"Your parents would want you to be happy, Teddy. My parents died when I was little too, like you, and I know they want me to be happy and safe."

Teddy smiled at Harry.

"Uncle Harry, when are you coming to visit me?"

Harry smiled back at the little boy.

"Soon. Very soon. Would you like to sit with us until your Grandma comes back?"

Teddy jumped up and down, clapping his hands. He held his arms out to Ginny, who lifted the little boy up and into her arms. He touched her swollen belly carefully.

"That's our little baby in there," Ginny said, and Harry nodded.

Teddy looked at her in amazement.

Throughout this, Draco's eyes had not moved from Teddy.

This was his cousin. A cousin he had never met and may never have met had it not been for Hermione.

He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently.

Hermione turned to him and smiled. Then a look of realization appeared on her face.

"Teddy, this is your cousin, Draco. Your Grandma is Draco's mother are sisters."

Teddy turned to look at Draco, mouth open.

He reached out his hand for Draco to shake. Draco solemnly shook it.

"Can I visit you too, cousin?" Teddy asked.

Draco nodded.

"Oh look at you all, playing happy families," a scathing voice interrupted.

Ron's face was scarlet as he looked over at the five of them.

His eyes rested on Draco.

"You think you can take my place? I'll warn you now, you'll soon get tired of her. All she does is read."

Hermione opened her mouth in outrage, but Harry, of all people, beat her to it.

"Shut up Ron! Don't speak about Hermione like that. And from what I've witnessed in the last two weeks, Draco is far better for her than you ever were."

Ron gaped, his face nearly purple now, then he got up and strode from the room.

Romilda looked awkwardly around the table.

Thankfully, Kingsley chose that moment to stand and begin the evening.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Memorial Gala, where we celebrate and remember for the seventh time the end of the War and those who died to make this world safe for us.

"Please raise your glasses and stand as we read out the names of the heroes who died saved our world.

"Sirius Black, Amelia Bones, Emmeline Vance, Florean Fortescue, Emma Abbott, Montgomery Chase, Albus Dumbledore, Charity Burbage, Alastor Moody, Ted Tonks, Dirk Creswell, Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevey, Severus Snape, Amira Sinistra, Padma Patil, Cormac McLaggen, Justin Flinch-Fletchley, Sybil Trelawney..."

The survivors stood silently, glasses raised as Kingsley read out the names of the dead. Harry's eyes were glistening and Ginny's face was pale and drawn.

Hermione remembered her own parents, who she had found safe and sound, still unaware of the magnitude of her involvement.

Draco, next to her, remembered all those who had died behind the scenes. Regulus Black, who had died trying to destroy the Dark Lord. Would he be remembered? Or those who had been heroes, but lived?

Harry thought of Dobby and of how his name would still not appear on any lists, despite being braver than many humans he knew.

He caught Neville's eye, who was standing at the table across the dancefloor, next to Hannah. They nodded, silently acknowledging their respect for one another.

Kingsley finished and cleared his throat.

"Now, we acknowledge those who are heroes, and who are here today. I would like to invite Harry Potter to say a few words."

Harry kissed Ginny and walked up to the podium to thunderous applause.

"Good evening, all. Now, I would like to remember a few other people who may not be seen as 'conventional' heroes.

Everyone fell silent.

"A house-elf, Dobby, saved my life, helping me and others escape from Malfoy Manor. Please stand and raise your glasses to him. He was murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange. Without him, I may not have been standing here today."

Everyone stood and raised their glasses, some reluctantly.

"Next year, I hope to see him on the list of the heroes," Harry said. "I would also ask you to remember Regulus Black, who played a very important part in defeating Lord Voldemort."

A few people winced at the use of You-Know-Who's chosen name.

"It has now been seven years since the war and our world has become a safer place. Death Eaters are being prosecuted regularly, but this is interspersed with modernising the wizarding world. Those from a non-magical heritage should never have been made to feel like second class citizens in a world which never fully accepted them. This has changed, and we now have four Muggle-born witches and wizards Sorted into Slytherin this year. They have described a House that is welcoming and accepting.

"While things are getting better, there are still many areas that need change. Rights for magical non-humans is one of these. House elves, while they like serving witches and wizards, will be the subject of a new law where mistreating them will be forbidden. They may take holidays if they wish, and when they are too old to continue their work, they will stop working. They are worthy of more respect than they have been given in the last few hundreds of years.

"Seven years on, we are evolving. Maintaining traditions that are important and central to the preservation of our world, while embracing innovation. For this seventh year, we have created a ring for every witch and wizard at Hogwarts age and above. New students, on arriving at Hogwarts, will receive this ring too.

"The rings are made of silver, personally carved with each of your names. They will serve as a daily reminder of how far we have come and how far still we have to go. You will receive them by owl tomorrow."

"Now, let us eat and dance and celebrate this new world together."

Harry stood down from the podium and everyone applauded again.

As he sat down, food appeared.

Hermione suddenly realised how hungry she was.

She turned to Draco, who was helping himself to spoonfuls of everything, and smiled.

"What do you actually do as a job, Draco?" she asked. She had never really asked before, and only knew his business by its vague title 'Malfoy Enterprises'.

Draco smirked.

"I oversee all the operations. At the moment, we're creating a potion to heal curse scars, like Harry's, or yours. Cutting edge potions and everyday potions. We also write textbooks for Hogwarts. All sorts of things."

"Good things?" Hermione asked.

Draco nodded.

"Good things. We had the resources when my father was in charge, but as you can imagine, his operations weren't so positive. It's been a long overhaul. But Granger, why are we talking about work?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Because I don't know what else to talk about, here."

Draco smiled warmly at her and Hermione felt a wriggling, pleasurable sensation in her stomach.

"Let's talk about that outburst. How was it seeing Ron again?"

Hermione took a deep breath. She glanced over at Romilda, who was eating her food silently, Ron beside her.

He must have come back at some point, she thought.

"Awful. I've ignored it for ages now, but the truth is, he betrayed me multiple times, in thought and action. Seeing him again just reminds me that he didn't just reject me as a girlfriend, but as a friend too. We went through the war we're remembering right now together."

Draco sighed. He wanted to punch Ron for hurting Hermione so much. His thoughts returned to his declaration of love in their Eighth year.

What would have happened if she had chosen him then?

He looked at her rich brown hair and smooth, shiny skin. At the way her dress clung to her frame and brought out the golden highlights in her hair. At her intelligent, kind brown eyes and soft lips.

But that wasn't all he admired.

Her brilliant mind and morals. Her ability to forgive. Her tenacity and confidence, and her sweet vulnerability.

She was the perfect woman.

And he didn't know how he hadn't seen it before.

Sure, she could be brash and opinionated, and they still had shouting matches about differences in opinion and he still sometimes felt the urge to slap her, but nobody wants perfect harmony.

"Well, that's his loss. You should have chosen me when you had the chance."

The words came out harsher than intended and he saw a brief flash of something pass over her face.

"Yes, well, at least I know now that the chance isn't available now," Hermione said. "At least I know before I got hurt. Will you excuse me?"

Hermione stood and left the Great Hall, leaving Draco sitting there wishing he'd chosen his words more wisely.

Hermione made her way to the bathroom she had visited in first year, where the troll had attacked. It had been her go-to bathroom that year, when she felt left out and ridiculed by most people at the school.

One of those people had been Draco Malfoy.

As she entered the bathroom, she saw someone lying on the floor. Moving closer, she saw that it was Andromeda Tonks, and she wasn't moving.

"Andromeda?" she cried, dropping down to her knees beside her and checking her pulse. Nothing. Andromeda's face was peaceful, and there was a small smile on her lips, which were slowly turning blue.

Hermione sobbed dryly. Then she returned to the Great Hall and went over to Harry, whispering in his ear. Teddy was still sat on Ginny's lap, playing with her long hair. Draco tried to meet her eye as she talked to Harry, but she avoided his gaze.

On the way back out of the hall with Harry, she found Angelina.

Angelina examined the body.

"Natural causes. Aneurism. It was her time to go."

Harry took a deep breath.

"Teddy's coming home with us then. For good," he said decisively.

"We should have checked earlier," Hermione said. "Maybe we could have saved her."

Angelina looked up at them both.

"There was nothing you could have done. If you were with her, then she would have died with you."

Angelina levitated her onto a stretcher and they walked back to the Great Hall. Music was coming through the doors, which were slightly ajar.

"I'll go and get Ginny and Teddy," Hermione said.

Teddy was asleep in Draco's arms when Hermione reached their table.

"Gin?"

Ginny turned around. She looked tired now, her eyes slightly red.

"We need you outside the hall."

Ginny got up carefully and walked away, towards the Entrance Hall.

Hermione turned to Draco.

"You'd better come as well, we need Teddy," she said shortly.

Draco followed her. A few heads turned as they walked past, but they looked more curious than concerned.

When Draco saw his aunt's body lying on the floor, he got a shock.

She looked just like Aunt Bellatrix.

When he moved closer, however, he saw that her face was softer than his psychopathic aunt's and that she looked kind and peaceful.

Teddy was starting to stir in his arms and he looked around in panic at Ginny and Harry and Hermione.

"Take him to our house," Ginny said.

She told him the address and he took off to the edge of the grounds to disapparate.

He appeared at the gates of a large, grey stone house. Trees obscured most of the view, but it looked welcoming.

Harry and Ginny apparated inside the gates.

"Over here!" Draco called.

Harry flicked his wand at the gates and they opened. Angelina had taken Andromeda's body to St Mungo's to be cremated and Hermione had gone to Andromeda's house to retrieve Teddy's belongings, and to work to file some paperwork.

Draco stepped inside the Potter house for the first time. There was a large entrance hall, almost as large as the one at Malfoy Manor, with a staircase leading to the upper floors.

They led him through to a cosy sitting room, decorated (predictably), in red and gold. Draco sat, holding Teddy in his arms.

"Why are we at Uncle Harry's?"

Draco look down at the little boy, whose brown eyes were looking up at him in confusion.

"Where's grandma?"

Harry and Ginny exchanged glances, but it was Draco who spoke.

"Teddy, your Grandma has left us, like your mummy and daddy."

Teddy sat up.

"Somebody killed her?"

His lip trembled.

"No, she died peacefully, naturally."

Teddy started crying.

"She's happy now, and at rest."

"Where will I live? Will I live on the streets?"

Harry came and sat beside Draco and Teddy.

"Would you like to come and live with me and Ginny? We would love you to live with us. You can have the room you sleep in when you come and stay with us."

"With the blue bed?"

"Yes, with the blue bed," Harry said.

"Will the baby in Aunty Ginny mind?" Teddy asked, worried.

Draco felt the strange urge to cry.

"The baby will love it, Teddy. You can be a big brother."

Teddy smiled.

"We can play Quidditch together!"

Then he turned to Draco.

"When you marry Aunty Hermione, will you have babies too?"

Draco burst out laughing and was surprised to hear the familiar laughter of Hermione Granger coming from the doorway.

She met his eyes and smiled nervously.

Later, as they were moving Teddy's belongings into his room, he pulled her into his arms firmly.

"You still have more than a chance, Granger. In fact, I'd say that chance was around 100%. What do you say?"

Hermione's dazzling smile was answer enough.

* * *

So a sad event and a new character and some developments. Also an angry Ron.


End file.
